United Nations World Water Assessment Programme

  • Hosted and led by UNESCO, the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) coordinates the work of 31 UN-Water members and partners in the World Water Development Report (WWDR).
  • This key UN Water report is an annual review providing an authoritative picture of the state, use and management of the world’s freshwater resources. In addition to coordinating this significant UN report, WWAP monitors freshwater issues in order to provide recommendations, develop case studies, enhance assessment capacity at a national level and inform the decision-making process.
  • WWAP seeks to equip water managers and key decision-makers with the information, data, tools and skills necessary to enable them to effectively participate in the development of policies.

Mission statement

This UN-wide programme wants to influence leaders in government, civil society and private sector, so that their policies and decision-making that affect water promote sustainable social and economic development at local, national, regional and global scales.
WWAP also seeks to equip water managers with knowledge, tools and skills so

  • they may effectively inform and participate in the development of policies and in decision making;
  • they may plan for, develop and manage water resources to meet the above objectives.

Objectives of the Programme

The Programme’s objectives are to:

  • Monitor, assess and report on the world’s freshwater resources and ecosystems, water use and management, and identify critical issues and problems;
  • Help countries develop their own assessment capacity;
  • Raise awareness on current and imminent/future water related challenges to influence the global water agenda;
  • Learn and respond to the needs of decision-makers and water resource managers;
  • Promote gender equality;
  • Measure progress towards achieving sustainable use of water resources through robust indicators; and
  • Support anticipatory decision-making on the global water system including the identification of alternative futures.

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